Floor panel



FLOOR PANEL Filed Nov. 21, 1942 g2g saggia/vl" IAWENTOR.'y Herfrf il. unf

Patented Dec. 14, 1943 paires stares E 'i 0F Fl C E FLOOR PANEL Application November 21, 1942, Serial No. 466,396

1 Claim.

rhis invention relates to oor panels.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide a floor panel comprising a sheet of metal having Ventilating and anti-slip characteristics comparable with those commonly associated with gratings in which crimped bars are disposed on edge and arranged in rows to provide openings through the grating area. The panel of the present invention provides resistance to slipping by one Walking over it by the undulated character of the oor surface of the panel and by periorations throughout the floor area. The un- `dulated floor surface may be attained by rolling a sheet of metal between pattern rolls or by any other manner of embossing. I'he embossed pattern is largely a matter of choice so long as it provides at least two heights and suiciently close undulations to be effective for anti-slip purposes. A standard checkered plate is shown in the drawing as illustrative of an example of an embossed design which is effective for the intended purpose.

Referring to the drawing, Fig. 1 is a plan of a portion of a floor panel made according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a plan of another suitably embossed pattern, and

Fig. 5 is a section through the sheet shown in Fig. 4.

rlfhe floor panel is an assembly of two main structural elements, an embossed sheet of steel it and girder bars or stiieners ll. These elements are readily obtainable in a variety of weights and sizes and their preparation and assembly is easily accomplished without unusual equipment. ,Rivets l2, or welding, are used to attach the bars to the sheet.

Panels for large floor areas are usually provided in rectangular areas varying in width and length in accordance with the spacing of beams or the size of a particular opening which is to be covered. It will be understood that thickness or weight of a particular plate and the depth and thickness of the girder bars are determined by the span of the panel supports andY vided by the ridges I3, I4, and depressions l5 of an ordinary checkered plate.

This type of plate is satisfactory because of the fairly square shoulders I6, Il that are obtainable at the edges of the ridges in the plane of the ridge tops.` The angularity of the ridge edges and their extension in four directions contribute materially to the anti-slip characteristics desired to be obtained.

The reverse of the embossed pattern just described would provide a broken or undulating floor surface having lozenge-shaped elevated areas in lieu of depressions l5 and crossing channels separating the elevations from one another. In commercial plates a variety of widths of channels (or ridges) and sizes of elevated lozenges (or depressions) are obtainable.

Another pattern for the plate is exemplified in Figs. 4 and 5 wherein the broken oor surface is provided by spaced domes 20 embossed to eX- tend above the original plate surface 2|. Additional frictional drag may be attained by periorating the tops of the domes as at 22.

The Ventilating openings in the plate are provided by punching operations whereby an edge 23 of each opening is formed by a depending ear 28. These ears constitute the material or punchings removed from the plate in forming the openings.

The Ventilating openings 25, as shown in Fig. 1, are arranged in parallel rows lengthwise of the plate and the openings in alternate rows are staggered with respect to each other.. This arrangement has the effect of breaking the continuity of the openings cross-wise of the plate as well as interposing overlapping ears at the underside of the plate.

The form of the openings may be varied to suit, but howsoever shaped they provide depending portions aligned in each row so that the girder bars Il may be attached against plane surfaces of substantial area.

The top edges of the girder bars preferably underlie and form supporting abutments for the plate throughouty the lengths of the bars.

The panels may be supported in any of the manners usually provided for such structures. An end support 26 is shown in Fig. 3 and a side support 2l is shown in Fig. 2. When beams are used as supports intermediate adjacent panels the beams may be wholly covered by the abutting floor plates of adjacent panels.

What is claimed is:

An anti-slip and ventilated metallic floor panel comprising, in combination, a perforated sheet of metal providing a oor surface having a load bearing floor area greater than the aggregate open area formed by perforations within the floor area, the said sheet being embossed on its upper surface for providing resistance to slipping by one walking over the floor surface, the perforations in said sheet being aligned in rows parallel to each other with the perforations in alternate rows staggered with respect to each other, said perforations being elongated in the 10 direction of the rows and each having a portion of the metal of the sheet equal in area to its associated perforation folded down from said sheet along a long edge of each perforation, and girder bars extending parallel to said rows of perforations and a'hxed to the backs of the downwardly folded portions so as to connect together a series of aligned folded portions and thereby provide rigidity to the oor panel.

HERBERT H. BUNKER. 

